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> And in the aftermath, a much healthier ecosystem may emerge [...] Seems to have missed the lesson of its immediately previous paragraph: > The 1980s were do
by ergonaught 4y ago
> And in the aftermath, a much healthier ecosystem may emerge [...]
Seems to have missed the lesson of its immediately previous paragraph:
> The 1980s were dominated by junk bond specialists, the nineties by investment bankers, the aughts by hedge fund mangers.
Nothing was learned about the 80s, or the 90s, or the 00s (or or or ad infinitum). The parasites merely adapted to the changing environment and found new host expressions.
- neilv 4y agoI wonder how many people driving the scams and schemes of each generation consider themselves the baddies. And what about the people at various degrees of distance, but still riding the coattails of that.
- doctorwho42 4y agoProbably even fewer than the small % you think. In my experience most of them have adopted a philosophy that promotes the behavior. Think on the simplistic lines of "if not me, then somebody else will do it", "without me the technology/etc. Would never exist", or my favorite variant: the true believer.
- plussed_reader 4y agoDon't forget the perennial, "If it were wrong it would be illegal."
- Timon3 4y agoIt feels like the natural extension of libertarian ideas. "If everyone looks out for themselves, everyone will be looked after" precludes actual reflection, since if something is successful and is not made illegal it's everyone elses problem for not doing the same thing.
- junofan 4y agoAre you thinking of minarchism or anarchism? Libertarianism is a lot broader.
- zeroonetwothree 4y agoLibertarianism is a political movement whereas you seem to be referring to ethics (since you explicitly reference things which are not illegal). Most ethical systems wouldn’t support this type of behavior though.
- scott_w 4y agoYou can’t disentangle politics from ethics. They feedback and inform each other.
- Ekaros 4y agoIt is just money or numbers in computer. It is not even real.
- karmelapple 4y agoThose of us building technology are not immune, either. How much have, for example, social media companies ruined lives? It has certainly helped many people, but at this point in history, on a daily basis, how many people are hurt more than they’re helped?
- edgyquant 4y agoA ridiculous amount. “Connecting people” is not some objective good and has disrupted entire societies all across the globe.
- rudasn 4y agoYeah Nokia really messed up!
- cscurmudgeon 4y agoWould love to see any research summing up positives and negatives.
- zeroonetwothree 4y agoHere is a pretty good literature review: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958821000695 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245195882... “Evidence for the relationship between Instagram use and well-being, as indicated by ratings of life satisfaction and happiness, is limited and mixed.” “Initial evidence suggests that Instagram membership does not seem to be linked to depressive symptoms.” “Evidence for the association between Instagram use and anxiety is scarce. The majority of the studies suggests that Instagram membership does not seem to put one at-risk for experiencing elevated anxiety levels.” My interpretation is that social media matters far less than we think. If it was truly so bad (or good!) we would have found stronger evidence in the data.
- zeroonetwothree 4y agoI would guess that positives and negatives are overstated in both directions. New technology is always “ruining lives” according to the previous generation. Probably when we invented writing it was considered exceedingly dangerous.
- rightbyte 4y agoI believe you can rationalize alot by "sticking it to the man" when you do "distruptive" business. E.g. "I am not the system, I am fighting it", by fooling folks to buy penny stocks or what ever.
- crmd 4y agoLet’s try an era where the industry is dominated by the tech worker class
- xwdv 4y agoWhy stop at the industry?
- forgetfreeman 4y agoYou mean the kind of people that fight the same holy wars every 5 years because the industry is allergic to taking cues from people with actual experience?
- andrew_ 4y agoEverything old is new again
- mixedCase 4y agoThere's bad apples across the experience spectrum. I'll take the young kids rediscovering relational databases for the Nth time rather than the dinosaurs that keep us enslaved to C-like languages and ancient practices. For goodness' sake it took well over 4 decades for proper algebraic data types to start appearing in everyday languages! Is it too much to ask to get to use dependent types in a routine setting before I drop dead?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- forgetfreeman 4y agoYour display of form-over-function language pedantry is a brilliant example of one of the more obnoxious wastes of time and energy that plague the industry
- alephnerd 4y agoThis era is absolutely dominated by the tech worker class. The people my age who became tech workers (like me) would have become IBs in the 2000s, lawyers in the 90s, or relationship bankers in the 80s. Look at how many people my age with money completely gentrified NoMA in DC, Park Slopes in Brooklyn, large tracts of Mission in SF, priced out Gays from the Leather District in SF, CapHill in Seattle, made Austin uncool, etc.
- throw0101c 4y ago> Nothing was learned about the 80s, or the 90s, or the 00s (or or or ad infinitum). See the book Devil take the hindmost: a history of financial speculation by Edward Chancellor: * https://bookshop.org/p/books/devil-take-the-hindmost-a-history-of-financial-speculation-edward-chancellor/7349633?ean=9780452281806 https://bookshop.org/p/books/devil-take-the-hindmost-a-histo... * https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/91360 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/91360 Starts with 1600s Tulip mania and 1700s South Sea Bubble.